Static Transfer Switch Simulator — Break-Before-Make Source Transfer Interactive

Interactive 3D static transfer switch simulator — enable or fail source A and B thyristor banks, introduce a source phase mismatch, adjust the transfer open interval and the load's DC hold-up time, watch the instantaneous supply gap and load reset events, and run a built-in model verification bench.

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About the Static Transfer Switch Simulator

This simulator models a static transfer switch (STS) built from two antiparallel thyristor banks, each fed from an independent AC source, feeding a single-cord IT load through a DC hold-up capacitor. Fail a source, mismatch the phase between sources, and tune the transfer timing to see when the load rides through a transfer and when it resets.

What the simulator shows

• 01 Facility laboratory tab: a real-time 3D workbench of source A and B terminals, the two antiparallel thyristor banks, the load DC hold-up capacitor and the single-cord load, with Home view, Focus selected part, Show full enclosure, Exploded view, Auto rotate, Expand and Hide/show labels camera controls, clickable numbered components with callouts, live stats, a sequence readout, switch-state tokens and a readings table. Experiment controls include Pause/resume, Advance 10 ms, Advance 1 s, a playback-speed selector (10× slow motion, real time, 10× faster, 1 minute per second), Enable facility / Stop experiment / Open source A / Open source B / Restore sources actions, an IT load slider (10–240 kW), Source A healthy / Source B healthy checkboxes, a source phase difference slider (−180° to 180°), a transfer open interval slider (1–30 ms) and a load supply hold-up slider (0–30 ms). • 02 Curves & measurements tab: a torque/load operating-point chart, a speed-and-current history chart, model equations (the load-reset condition, the transfer-permission condition and the mutual-exclusion rule) and snapshot readouts for source A power, source B power, instantaneous supply gap, longest supply gap, load reset events and conducting power. • 03 Experiments tab: guided presets (fast healthy transfer, hold-up exceeded, phase mismatch, both sources unavailable) plus a Model verification bench ("Run model checks") using independent fresh models, and a timestamped event log with trial-report export. • 04 Learn & assess tab: lessons on mutual exclusion, qualifying the alternate source, the difference between a brief supply gap and an actual IT interruption, and how hold-up time can be exceeded, a two-question knowledge-check quiz with reset, and a scope-and-references note.

How break-before-make transfer and hold-up work

An STS keeps two independent AC source banks — antiparallel thyristor stacks in this model — available to a single load, but only ever permits one bank to conduct at a time. Before the incoming bank is enabled, the outgoing bank is blocked, which is why the switch is called break-before-make rather than a true make-before-break transfer: the load briefly loses a conducting source during the modeled transfer open interval.

Before transfer is allowed, the alternate source must also be healthy and within the teaching phase-mismatch window (±15° in this model) — the phase-mismatch experiment shows that even a fully healthy alternate source blocks transfer if it's too far out of phase. Whether that brief gap actually interrupts the IT load depends on the load's own DC hold-up time: the simulator's hold-up capacitor can bridge a gap shorter than its configured hold-up interval, and only records a load reset event the first time a continuous gap exceeds that hold-up time.

Reading the supply gap and verification results

The stats panel reports source A and B power, the instantaneous supply gap, the longest supply gap recorded, the count of load reset events, and total conducting power. A transfer that completes within the load's hold-up time produces a nonzero instantaneous gap but zero reset events; a transfer that exceeds hold-up produces exactly one reset event per qualifying gap, which is the key distinction the fast-healthy-transfer and hold-up-exceeded experiment presets are designed to contrast.

The Run model checks button in the Experiments tab exercises the mutual-exclusion, phase-qualification and hold-up logic against independent model instances without disturbing your live trial. This is a discrete source-transfer model: it does not solve an SCR commutation waveform, current-zero detection, or frequency drift — the phase window and transfer/hold-up timings are configurable teaching values, not specific equipment ratings.

Frequently asked questions

Why is it called "break-before-make" transfer?

Because the outgoing thyristor bank is blocked before the incoming bank is permitted to conduct — the two sources are never deliberately paralleled. This mutual exclusion briefly interrupts the conducting path during the transfer, which is why the transfer open interval and the load's hold-up time both matter.

What stops the switch from transferring to a healthy alternate source?

The alternate source must be within the model's ±15° teaching phase-mismatch window in addition to being healthy. The phase-mismatch experiment preset sets a 60° mismatch to show that transfer is blocked even though the B source itself is otherwise available.

Does every supply gap count as an IT load interruption?

No. The load's own DC hold-up capacitor can bridge a gap shorter than its configured hold-up time without a reset. The simulator only counts a load reset event the first time a continuous gap exceeds the configured hold-up interval — see the fast-healthy-transfer preset (no reset) versus the hold-up-exceeded preset (one reset).

What does the model verification bench check?

The Run model checks button in the Experiments tab runs automated checks against independent, freshly created model instances, confirming the mutual-exclusion rule, the phase-qualification condition and the hold-up/reset logic behave correctly.

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